Obituary

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 23, 24 June 1925, Page 49

Obituary

MRS. LORETTA BUTLER, WAIPAWA. With regret the death is recorded of Mrs. Loretta Butler, wife of Mr. J. Butler, who passed away on the Bth inst., at her residence, Argyll Street, Waipawa. The high esteem '■ in which the deceased was held; was shown in the large attendance at the funeral and the. number of floral tributes and messages of sympathy received. Rev. Father O'Donnell officiated at St. Patrick's Church and at the interment in Uadlev Cemetery R.I.P.

MRS. ANNIE TERESA EATON, KAIKOTJRA. Quite ii gloom was cast,over the Kaikoura and Kaiapoi districts when it became known that Annie Theresa (Cissie), wife of Mr. Jack Eaton, Kaikoura, and youngest daughter of Thomas and Ellen Power, of Perrin's Ford, Kaiapoi, passed away suddenly on .Tune 1. The funeral, which took place at Kaikoura on June 4, was largely attended, >and the greatest sympathy is felt for the bereaved husband and three young children ; and also for the aged parents and family of deceased The late Airs. Eaton was attended in her last hours by Rev. Father Saunderson, of Kaikoura, and she died fortified by the last rites of Holy Church.--R.I.P.

MR. PATRICK McCARTiX, TAIIIAPE. Mr. and Mrs. J. McCartin, sen., of Otoroa, [Jtiku, Taihape, very old and respected residents of the district, recently suffered a sad bereavement in the loss of their voun«wt son, Patrick. Returning with his bro- '»<>.- to the toller's home by motor, the ear Ridded and crushed, with, (he result. lb-,! deceased was so , severely injured j tlial lie almost instantly succumbed. The 'hie Mr McCartin,, who was,only 29 years of :1 -c w .. s a practical Catholic, and by his sinceifev inherent honesty,. and genial nature earned the esteem and affection of a . wide circle , ; f friends who regret his untimely death Deep est sympathy is extended to his sorrowing parents, brothers, and sisters. The fuiiefel" wdnch took place at Taihape on Moiidav, the Uh ult„ was the largest" "ever, see,, In the town, close on 100 motor cars following hearse. Rev. dither Harnett. Pip:' assisted by Fathers Brennan and Connolly, officiated at the church and gra-side. ' Cone ,9 his rest at an early ; age, be leaves behind him an ; enduring memory of -a friend who was always willing to assist. A wide circle of friends will join: with the bereaved ones S their prayers that the ctediio^to Heart of Jesus will gi Ve him eternal rer,o«e

It is well that Missioners and other priests should at times paint terrible pictures of death, and should detail the deaths of sinners, the bad deaths, they have seen or heard of; but I am writing for those who have read and meditated upon all that I have written on this page during the past seven months, and who are conscientiously forming their lives on the principles therein advocated; to them Death will come as a friend. For the Christian who has lived in Christ, whose life has been hidden with Christ in God. death has no bitterness. He see. in it but the opening of a. door that reveals the many mansions where he will discover that the Lord of death is the God of everlasting life. It is for this thai St. Paul, with his memories of that third Heaven, yearned to be dissolved and to be with Chris!.- j u exile he could see only in a dark manner as through a glass, but face to face will be the vision when the Lord of death throws wide the door that hides the splendors of eternitv.

Death is the Revealer of the mysteries after which the Christian gropes his toilsome way through banishment. Death is Ihe Interpreter of Hie homo-sickness that is ever Calling him. Death is not death, hut life immortal. Poor people! how foolish sometimes is our view of death! Like children who fill with tears when put to bed in the | dark, we tremble when we think of the undiscovered country that lies beyond the door. But the children rejoice with the morning light; and tiny who have the light of God" fear neither darkness nor pain. It is wot darkness, it is not pain that leads us to our last sleep; it i, s Death, holy, generous, kind magnificent, that comes like a blessed visitant to unweave so gently the bands of flesh, to uncoil so tenderly the springs of our earthly existence, and lead us to our real home • "to Mount Sion, and to the City of the Living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels and to the Church of the First-born, who are written in the heavens, and to God the •fudge of all, and to tho spirits of the Just made perfect," These are no kings of terror, no dread spectres of the night 0 holy Death, refuge without peer, showj tis the beauty of thy face when our poor limbs, tired with the rough roads of life and the long fatigue, begin to fail us 0 rich and generous Death, share with us thy treasures when we have cast off one after | another the vanities of this passing show! 0 kind and clement Death, wash every foul stain off our poor souls, and lull us into gentle sleep like children on the kne« of .{their mother! 0 Death magnificent, Jesus died, and dying made thee a lovely thing and pleasant for His sake; so lovely, so I pleasant, that the Church's perpetual office i is to show forth the death of Jesus until He comes once more to gather His elect. Why should we fear death since we have the promise of everlasting life to comfort